European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 13, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday september 13, 1995 commentary the stars and stripes Page 19 if the preliminary agreement brokered by assistant Secretary of state Richard Holbrooke actually leads to peace in Bosnia a a Large if a the end of the killing will be reason enough to celebrate. But no one should confuse the outcome with Justice or with Western values. The Central provision of the agreement the creation of a serbian Republic within Bosnia is a Victory for racist fanatics. It legitimizes the terrible proposition that a tribal group in a territory has the right to create its own ethnically pure state killing or expelling All a. A. The sad thing is that that re suit was so unnecessary. It came about because of the blindness and weakness of Western politicians diplomats and soldiers. When Yugoslavia began to fall apart in 1991, american and european statesmen could have made All the difference. But they did essentially nothing As Slobodan Milosevic stoked the fires of serbian nationalism and nothing when he sent the yugoslav army into Croatia and levelled the City of Vukovan. Again the West should have told Franjo Tadjman that in declaring Croatia Independent he must protect the tights of its serbian minority a or forgo Western recognition. That responsibility too was funked. Then came Bosnia. It was a Model of our vision of a Good Anthony Lewis society multiethnic tolerant civilized. That its minority serbs would worry about their position in a state separate from Yugoslavia was not surprising. But it was not inevitable that they should be led by fanatics into genocide. Again the West could have acted and did not. Instead of resisting aggression the world sent in in pro for the . Force that was supposed to protect bosnian civilians but weakly followed rules Laid Down by the serbian aggressors. Some up Rotor commanders such As Gen. Sir Michael Rose of Britain blocked effective responses to the most brutal serbian assaults on civilians. And Western political leaders averted their v a a -. Why have nato and the . Now become so much More vigorous Holbrooke is part of the answer. Inside the Clinton administration he has pushed for a stronger position his commitment and Energy have made a difference. But the larger reason is on the ground. Croatia a Quick recapture of its Krajina Region made serbian forces look less menacing and Western intervention correspondingly less dangerous. The nato bombing though spokesmen keep saying it has nothing to do with the diplomatic negotiations puts great pressure on the bosnian serbs to Settle. They Are being deprived of their favorite tactic in the War murdering civilians without fear of retribution. The bosnian serbs claim that nato shells have hit. A Hospital a tragic Accident if it occurred. The serbs said nothing when their gunmen deliberately targeted Sarajevo a main Hospital and. Destroyed it floor by floor. A a a a a a a a. Learn a lot with the new strength of resistance to the bosnian serbs aggression the mystery is Why the United states has brought the parties to an agreement seemingly so favourable to the serbian leaders a billions. Indeed it is More favourable than the settlement crafted by Cyrus Vance and lord Owen which might Well have been achieved when the serbs were in a much stronger position. The Vance Owen plan called for Bosnia to have cantons dominated by the different groups. Its complexity was a serious drawback but it did preserve a genuinely Sovereign Bosnia. The plan seemed near adoption three years ago when the Clinton administration suddenly turned away from it and it died. The agreement just reached appears to make Bosnia a Sovereign state in Only a cosmetic sense. Forty nine percent of the country would be under serbian control a and presumably under the same leaders Radovan Karadzic and Gen Ratko Mladic who Are under indictment for War crimes. Whether the new agreement amounts to anything More than a thinly disguised dissolution of Bosnia depends on things still to be negotiated. One is the status of Sarajevo. The bosnian serbian leaders have insisted that Sarajevo be divided and part of it made their City racially pure. To accept that View a to destroy Sarajevo As he Symbol of tolerance a would be the ultimate act of cynicism. That it is possible even to imagine that outcome is to understand the Price of Western weakness Over these last four years. A a a a a. Clew York times. A. Cal Thomas two men appeared on network television last week. One Oregon sen. Bob Packwood vainly attempted to defend his virtue. The other baseball player Cal Ripken jr., displayed his the two men Are symbols of the american cultures tug of War. The one proof that your sins will find you out a Man guilty of the most offensive behaviour. The other a walking definition of a family values and a True role Model. Sen. Barbara Boxer d-calif., is due congratulations from people of All political stripes for keeping the heat on the ethics committee and the full sen ate which surely would have let Packwood off with something Short of expulsion or resignation had she knuckled under to pressure from the a old boys club. Many politicians and commentators were heard to exclaim that sexual mores have changed. No they Haven to. People Are beginning to rediscover that the Good things never change and that the old mores promote general and personal welfare. Despite claims to the contrary in the 1992 presidential Campaign it turns out that character matters. One wonders How far this ethics resurrection will go. Are americans Awakening to the fact that virtue what a person is on the inside produces values what the culture is collectively ? Are we about to embark on a counter counterculture in which we see in Gertrude Himmelfarbe swords a reversal of a the tide of permissiveness and raising the level of propriety one might think so after watching that other Man on television last week Cal Ripken jr., As he broke Lou Gehrig a consecutive game Streak. When it became official 50,000 people Rose and began a deafening Roar that lasted for 22 minutes. It became Clear that the crowd was recognizing Ripken As something More than a Fine athlete. They were voting him a most valuable family he walked Over to his wife and gave her the Jersey off his Back. The camera showed rip Keir wearing a to shirt honouring his children. During the Post game ceremony rip Ken affectionately kissed his wife and two kids. Then he kissed his Mother and embraced his father. This tableau once represented the american family at least the family most americans wanted. A a in its profile of Ripken time Magazine noted that the Baltimore Oriole shortstop a has never sulked maligned strutted whined wheeled or referred to himself in the third so revered is Ripken that when Umpire Drew Coble threw him out of a game in 1989 for arguing a Call Coble said a i Felt like i was throwing god out of Ripken exhibits humility in an age of hyper egos. He signs autographs for fans when too Many of his overpaid colleagues stiff those sitting in the overpriced seats. A Good humor and intelligence Mark his interviews a says time. And a the holds endorsement meetings on the Road to make time for family at on the Day of his record setting game he took his child to school. This is what we need to see More of a Man with Strong love for the wife of his life and a role Model to his and our . A. What we need to see less of is the predator male who thinks women Are his for the picking and that sex is a recreational sport with no consequences for those participating in it outside of marriage. If a new ethical and moral Day is dawning it comes none too soon. The past 30 years have wreaked cultural havoc on America. The cynicism directed at Congress is directly related to the perceived absence of morals and ethics in Washington. Once americans cared so individual virtue that no one could be elected president who had been divorced. While a return to that Standard is probably not realistic for the near future it surely will no longer be possible in this new environment to have cheated on your spouse or harassed women in ones employ and expect to be elected to or remain in High office. Liberals like to say Quot you can to turn the clock backs when they argue against the re institution of a moral sense. Time ran out on Bob Packwood but Cal Ripken turned Back the clock last week a and we liked what we saw. C log Engulos Timon. A the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing those of the stars and stripes or the United states government
